THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            221
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
    FORMULATE A HUNTING LICENSE CATEGORY FOR FOREIGN HUNTERS,
    UTILIZING LICENSED GUIDES ON PRIVATE LAND.


 1        WHEREAS, Hawaii holds a unique position amongst the fifty
 2   states as a tourist destination with a worldwide reputation and
 3   is host to a large number of visitors from the Pacific Rim
 4   nations; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, Hawaii has a unique climate allowing year-round
 7   outdoor activities; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, Hawaii is currently seeking to diversity its
10   economic base and both the State and its Department of Land and
11   Natural Resources (DLNR) are seeking to expand their sources of
12   revenue in our low population state; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, low-impact outdoor activities like hunting have
15   much less negative effect on the environment than many other
16   potential land uses, and hunting is a sound and beneficial part
17   of land and game management, as has been shown by numerous
18   nation-wide studies and programs; and
19   
20        WHEREAS, the economic benefit of hunting encourages land-
21   owners to convert fallow, unuseable, agricultural and ranch
22   lands to habitat for game - whether gamebirds or mammals - and
23   such habitat is documentably an improvement in overall
24   environment and ecology - with the experience of South Africa
25   as a prime example; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, Hawaii's statutes already allow for both game
28   mammal and game bird hunting on private land on a year-round
29   basis, as managed by the landowner; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, Hawaii needs the appropriate licensing,
32   recognition, and group organization of hunting guides as is the
33   case in numerous other states; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, hunting brings in revenue to the Wildlife
36   Revolving Fund of the DLNR which, together with matching funds

 
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 1   from the Federal Pittman-Robertson moneys, benefits all of
 2   Hawaii's citizens and wildlife, as well as the environment; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, Hawaii is becoming well-known for its hunting
 5   opportunities, which could be greatly increased through print
 6   media and internet advertising; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, if licensed guides had the opportunity to pursue
 9   the opening up of private lands to hunting, and could legally
10   undertake the worldwide advertising noted above, they would be
11   likely to do so and these activities would save the State, the
12   Hawaii Visitors Bureau, and the DLNR a great deal of time and
13   money; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, hunting generates many ancillary jobs and
16   economic benefits such as guide fees, meat preparation,
17   lodging, vehicle rental, food services, taxidermy, video
18   production, specialty clothing, equipment rental, and the like;
19   and
20   
21        WHEREAS, Hawaii has a unique potential for attracting
22   foreign hunters and their families; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, Hawaii's well-accessible hunting opportunities
25   allow hunters and their families to combine both hunting and
26   vacationing while in Hawaii, and thus bring even broader
27   economic benefit to the State; and
28   
29        WHEREAS, the DLNR has considerably less income from
30   hunting license and wildlife stamp sales than do the wildlife
31   agencies of more populous states, and can provide far more
32   services to Hawaii residents if better funded; and
33   
34        WHEREAS, Hawaii has the unique opportunity to establish an
35   alternative type of hunting license to capitalize on our many
36   international visitors; and
37   
38        WHEREAS, safe hunting by and for such visitors is an
39   important consideration reflected by the fact that U.S.
40   citizens almost uniformally have the opportunity in their state
41   to take hunter education courses and receive certification,
42   whereas the large majority of foreign visitors do not; and

 
 
 
 
 
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 1   
 2        WHEREAS, foreign hunters, with Japan as a prime example,
 3   may not have a hunting license from their home area due to
 4   restrictive firearm laws, considerable red tape and expense, or
 5   unavailability of licenses; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, foreign hunters can hunt safely on private land
 8   under the direct supervision of a Hawaii-licensed hunting
 9   guide, with few, if any, other hunters on that land; and
10   
11        WHEREAS, a system is needed in Hawaii whereby foreign
12   hunters, who cannot meet the criteria for a hunter education
13   certificate such as are available to U.S. and Canadian citizens
14   and a very small number of other countries and is required
15   under Chapter 183D, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), for a
16   regular Hawaii hunting license, can nonetheless acquire an
17   alternative type of hunting license for use on private land in
18   the presence of a licensed guide; now, therefore, 
19   
20        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
21   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
22   Representatives concurring, that the Chairperson of the Board
23   of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) take immediate steps to
24   formulate a new non-U.S. hunter licensing procedure; and
25   
26        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DLNR submit to the
27   Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
28   Session of 2000, a complete and full proposal of legislative
29   changes needed to amend Chapter 183D of the Hawaii Revised
30   Statutes, or to modify, delete, or add other statutes, to
31   provide for an alternative type of hunting license or hunting
32   permit for foreign visitors different from the usual licensing
33   procedure in U.S. states as exemplified by sections 183D-21 and
34   183D-22, HRS, now in use in Hawaii; and
35   
36        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such new licensing should take
37   into account that most foreign visitors are unable to meet the
38   criteria for a regular Hawaii state hunting license due to
39   having no access to U.S. type hunter education programs, and
40   may not even have a hunting license from their home country for
41   various reasons; and
42   

 
 
 
 
 
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 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such foreign hunters should be
 2   physically accompanied at all times while hunting by a Hawaii-
 3   licensed guide who has taken and passed the Hawaii hunter
 4   education course or an acceptable equivalent course from
 5   another state or country and who meets other basic criteria as
 6   prescribed by the DLNR for licensed guide; and
 7   
 8        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such alternatively-licensed
 9   hunting should be limited to private lands so that the licensed
10   guide can physically accompany the hunter at all times to
11   ensure adequate supervision and safety of the hunting; and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such alternative license
14   should be available only to those visitors who do not come from
15   a state, province, or country where hunter education
16   certificates or their equivalent are available; and
17   
18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the cost of such alternative
19   license should not be less than a regular out-of-state license
20   fee, nor more than a 125% of said fee; and
21   
22        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such alternatively-licensed
23   hunters should pay for the same wildlife stamps or other tags
24   or fees as regularly licensed hunters; and
25   
26        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that 75% of the alternative hunting
27   license fee go into the Wildlife Revolving Fund to benefit the
28   DLNR's wildlife and environmental programs just as the regular
29   hunting license fees do, and a full 25% of the alternative
30   license fee be designated to a fund to solely benefit Hawaii's
31   hunting and associated game habitat programs on public lands;
32   and
33   
34        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the alternative license fee
35   for commercial gamebird shooting preserves should be the same
36   as the regular license fee for such preserves; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that expiration, duplication, and
39   display rules should be the same for all forms of alternative
40   hunting license as for regular hunting license; and
41   
42        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that licensed guides having Hunter

 
 
 
 
 
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 1   Education certificates or its equivalent be the only avenue by
 2   which such alternatively-licensed hunters could hunt, to
 3   encourage the presence and ethical activity of such guides and
 4   increase their interaction and accountability with the DLNR;
 5   and
 6   
 7        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that licensed guides, to facilitate
 8   such hunting, could pre-purchase such alternative licenses
 9   using their client's name, address and other basic
10   identification information as required by the DLNR for purchase
11   of a regular hunting license, and could do so through existing
12   hunting license agents or the DLNR - or the non-U.S. hunter
13   could purchase said license personally at the same sources, if
14   naming their licensed guide; and
15   
16        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DLNR should make every
17   effort to notify guides and potential guides of this expanded
18   hunting and its economic potential, encourage the formation of
19   a guides association as in other states, and promote the value
20   of getting a guides license in order to advertise for clients
21   worldwide; and
22   
23        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DLNR should make every
24   effort to also notify private landowners of this expanded
25   hunting and its economic potential, encourage them to allow
26   such hunting, assist them in implementing it if desired, and
27   prepare for such landowners an informational sheet showing
28   hunting's documentably admirable safety as compared to other
29   sports, as well as its low rate of landowner liability claims;
30   and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DLNR should work
33   immediately and actively with both the Insurance Commissioner
34   and the Legislature to improve the availability of inexpensive
35   hunting liability insurance for guides or landowners such as is
36   readily available in many other states, to further the
37   availability of hunting opportunities for both alternatively
38   and regularly licensed hunters; and
39   
40        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the certified copies of this
41   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the

 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1   Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Insurance
 2   Commissioner.
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________